Fairy Tale
by Unmei Hime
Summary: He didn't believe it. Not at all. He thought it was nothing but a crappy story. Until he experienced it first hand... Now, enter Yunoki Azuma, with his ever conniving mind and twisted plots, major chaos awaits just around the corner...LenxKaho
1. Encounter

**Fairy Tale**

**by **

**Unmei Hime**

* * *

**Prologue**

Not so long ago, there was the story of two gifted violinists who fell in love with each other.

The only problem was that they were rivals. They thought they had to hate each other because such feelings only tend to interfere with their music.

But something magical happened.

Would they have a happy ever after?

This was how their story unfolded…

* * *

**Chapter 1**: **Encounter**

Tsukimori Len was irritated.

Who wouldn't be when you found loads and loads of fan mails inside your shoe locker every single day?

They never seemed to end. Day by day, fan mails poured into his locker like water gushing from the tap. And they contained nothing but stupid things like "I like you, Tsukimori-kun", "Will you be my boyfriend, Tsukimori-kun", "You're a great violinist, Tsukimori-kun, would you be mine forever?" Nothing but crap. Honestly, they did nothing but made his skin crawl. If only useless girls such as them who had nothing better to do in life would just disappear, the world would be such a better place.

Sighing in frustration, he turned around only to bump himself hard against something or someone. He heard a crashing noise and in a split second he found himself on the floor. Fortunately, he was in a sitting position but his back ached not to mention he was having a hard time to breathe. There seemed to be a heavy load pressing him mercilessly against the cold metal of the shoe lockers.

This was the last straw. His day could not get any worse. He couldn't help but utter a silent curse. Damn.

Gathering himself, he caught a glimpse of red hair. When he lifted his face, before he knew it, his lips touched something soft that sent currents down his spine. His eyes widened in shock. His body couldn't move.

Time stood still.

After what seemed like forever, a sudden movement got him back to his senses. And the realization hit him hard.

He just kissed Hino Kahoko.

Accidentally that was.

* * *

_A few minutes earlier…_

Hino Kahoko was late.

Darn her alarm clock for not being reliable enough and not being sturdy enough to stand abuse of its owner by slamming it against the wall the minute it rang. She reminded herself that she needed to buy a new one after school although her mom already told her that for sure the new one would suffer the same imminent fate.

Oh well, better to tell her mom to be her living alarm clock instead. But she wondered briefly if her mom would be up for the task. ('Coz her mom knew better than anyone how hopeless she was about waking up every morning and that it would take a firefighter truck's alarm to pull her from her deep slumber). She also wondered if it was an acquired deficiency syndrome or something because she just couldn't seem to get enough sleep.

Anyway, because of that, she was running late again for school. What was new? She heard the sarcastic part of her chide. Maybe she should put up a tent beside the school grounds so that something would change.

Heh. Sometimes her sense of humor amazed her.

Concentrating on running so that she would be able to beat the bell, she pushed forward her already worn-out feet and huffed by the second. At least, the required everyday exercise of her body was solved. This was more than enough actually, what with the everyday marathon from her house which was a good two miles away from school. Maybe she should also consider being a marathon or sprint runner as an occupation in the future. Yeah, right.

Just a few meters ahead, she could already see the front gates of the school and she thanked with utmost sincerity her goddess of luck for never wavering to give her the support in her constant struggle of reaching the school gates before the strict disciplinary committee lashed out their claws on her.

By mere seconds, she safely reached the school grounds yet again and albeit she was huffing mad and beads of sweat already had a life of their own pouring off her, she gave herself a triumphant smile. She was a pro at this, no doubt.

After calming her racing pulse, she quickly gathered herself and started for the shoe lockers by the entrance. There were still a number of students there changing their shoes. Good. She still had a few minutes to spare before heading to the classroom.

When she was just ten steps away, she recognized the unique but nevertheless charming bluish-streaked mass of hair of Tsukimori Len. It never failed to make her wonder everytime she saw him how ever did he manage to maintain such hair?

But for some reason, it seemed to her that he was thoroughly pissed at something so early in the morning. Well, whatever. She would just give him a quick morning greeting and be on her way. She wouldn't want to be at the receiving end of his sour mood anyway.

Readying herself to say 'good morning' when she was just two steps behind him, she didn't notice the piece of indoor shoe that was left cluttered by someone and within a breath of a second, she found herself tumbling down. In an effort to save herself the pain of hitting the floor, her hands tried desperately to grab the nearest thing that could help her which was none other than the broad back of Tsukimori Len. However, she didn't think he would suddenly turn around before she could even reach him.

That single action made the big difference.

Like she'd seen in movies, she felt like time passed in slow motion when after slamming hard against the boy in front of her, they both fell unceremoniously onto the floor. Fortunately for her, she was cushioned by Tsukimori Len's body but something like an electric shock coursed through her veins that she didn't quite understand.

That was when she realized she was sitting on his lap and her lips were touching his.

Hino Kahoko then had a sudden premonition that something unprecedented would knock the living daylights out of her and that she had no way to stop it from happening.

She had no way of knowing that from that point on, her goddess of luck had already abandoned her.

* * *

**A/n:** Tee hee..I never thought I'd be able to put this fic up after months of stalling. But nevertheless, I'm happy. I really adore La Corda de Oro and I'm a hardcore Kaho-Len fan. I hope this came out just right. Thanks for reading! If you would be so kind to leave any comments/suggestions, I would be more than happy!

**Disclaimer:** La Corda d' Oro (Kin'iro no Corda) belongs to its rightful owner, Kure Yuki. Please buy the manga and watch the anime. Guaranteed one of the best.


	2. Complications

**Chapter 2: Complications**

* * *

Yunoki Azuma wasn't a sucker for romance. Definitely not.

He'd rather die a slow and painful death than be involved with something that would ruin his most carefully crafted princely image especially meddle with some other people's love lives when he couldn't even take care of his own. Not that he had any romantic inclination or unrequited love towards anyone in particular. He just thought it corny, not to mention unmanly to be swooning over women.

That said, he wouldn't have imagined that he would let himself be affected (really greatly affected) by the scene he had just the misfortune of witnessing just a few moments ago.

That scene that made his jaw drop, his fists clench and ultimately made him wince. Though he really wondered why.

Tsukimori Len and Hino Kahoko kissed.

Accidentally or not they still kissed. And in front of the whole school for everyone (well, just a few unfortunate beings including him) to stand as unwilling witnesses.

After that, if not for the feelings that were stirred inside him, he would have laughed out loud at how Len and Kaho managed to break the spell or whatever damn thing it was that befell them and walked away from each other as if nothing had happened, which was obviously not the case since their faces revealed otherwise.

It was really a sight to behold mind you, especially with the usually cold and surly Tsukimori Len being red all over and losing his balance.

Heh. Scheming person that he was, this would definitely be interesting.

…Yunoki Azuma still hadn't realized how he would end up regretting whatever he had in mind that day he had witnessed that unfortunate kiss.

* * *

Tsukimori Len was having a hard time.

Although, he wouldn't admit it to himself, he was thoroughly bothered.

That kiss just now was neither exactly good, nor exactly bad. He wouldn't say he enjoyed it. It started and ended within a mere second anyway. But the scary thing was, it left him wanting for more. The soft and tender feel of her lips left him yearning for kissing her for real. It was unbelievable.

And it made him scared.

Dead scared really, like he'd never been in his whole existence.

These bothersome feelings were never his cup of tea. He'd never once thought of pursuing any relationship with any girl lest he be distracted from concentrating on perfecting his music.

Girls are nothing but mere distraction or destruction for guys, whichever comes first. That was what he thought then up until now.

Up until Hino Kahoko appeared in his life and unprecedentedly swept him off his feet. She changed his whole outlook about everything around him especially with the way he regarded his music.

However, he didn't think he'd have any romantic feelings for her. No. To put it exactly, he just wasn't aware. He just didn't realize it before.

Because the girl was just average. At first glance that was.

She wasn't someone that could be called drop dead gorgeous. He had seen a number of women with above average beauty within their family's circle since meeting with celebrities and important people were a normal activity for the Tsukimoris. Thus, his eyes were used to seeing extraordinarily beautiful women and it would just be plain honest to say that she wasn't one gifted with the celebrity-like kind of beauty. She could even be called a plain Jane with ordinary features and body.

But, her most astounding quality was that she had this glow of charming aura that had people around her seemingly drawn to her. She could light up the whole room with just her smile. Now, that he thought about it, she had the kind of beauty that was kind of hidden and would only reveal itself the more you got to know her better.

Though she was clumsy as hell, unbelievably slow and painstakingly naïve with zero awareness about how she affected other people, her pure love for music was so tangible he could almost touch it with the way she played her violin.

Amazing really, how much he had come to see the real her. Her flaws and strengths mixed altogether made her the desirable person that she was. The most desirable and beautiful person he ever knew.

But now, the pressing problem was that how he would act upon his recently realized and recognized feelings (actually just mere hours ago) toward Hino Kahoko. He wasn't the type to just confess to the girl that he liked her. No, that would definitely be downright embarrassing and out-of-character really.

He could just ignore it. Pretend nothing was wrong and still treat her just the same as usual. After all, his music still held the top priority in his list. Furthermore, he wasn't sure if Hino Kahoko was interested in him in any way. What if she just thought of him as a friend or worse, a rival and nothing more? That would surely be a big blow.

But then again, what if other guys such as Tsuchiura and Hihara found their courage and confessed to her before him? He knew, like him those two guys looked at Hino Kahoko with admiration and yearning in their eyes, though the said girl hadn't noticed, slow and naïve as she was. What would he do then if one of them acquired the right to have her and never let her go?

To hell with all the consequences. He'd have to act soon.

…Tsukimori Len, still in a state of confusion, decided he would rather face what he thought would be the most humiliating experience in his life.

* * *

Hino Kahoko was unusually quiet.

The people around her had already wondered time and again during the entire morning, what could possibly have happened to make the normally cheerful girl uncharacteristically spacing out. It even took the teacher three loud yells calling her name before her wandering mind resurfaced within the walls of the classroom.

But after she answered wrongly and apathetically the teacher's question and made the poor old Yamaguchi-sensei have added wrinkles and a near anger breakdown, she just went back immersed in her own world whatever and wherever that was as if she saw nothing and heard nothing in the real world.

Well, if anyone would probe into her mind they would see nothing else but the same scene repeating again and again like a broken record.

Tsukimori Len kissed her.

That Tsukimori Len kissed her.

She, Hino Kahoko was kissed by Tsukimori Len.

Seriously, even she wanted to pull a hammer and strike her own head so that she could just stop thinking about it.

Whatever was the matter with her? It was just a simple touching of their lips within such a short streak of time. Just a feathery light kiss. Accidentally initiated, nothing more. It was done and over. No big deal.

But why was she so darn concerned about it? It wasn't like Tsukimori Len did that on purpose, stealing her first kiss in such a manner. However, even until now, she could feel her pulse going berserk and her cheeks seemingly had a permanent pinkish stain.

She knew this could mean one and only thing: a spark of something that would make her fall straight into the pit of love with no possible lifesaver whatsoever. Ugh. Talk about being mushy.

A true novice in the world of romance, she hadn't had the single experience about it. But she did read a lot of shoujo manga and romance novels so she basically had an overview of the whole thing and all those sweet and nice feelings.

However, it was with Tsukimori Len, the ice cold prince who came from a family of renowned musicians. Could she measure up to him? With all his fans, admirers and all the girls around him, could she even stand a chance?

Would her feelings only bound to be an unrequited love?

But no matter what, she would definitely not lose. Unrequited or not, mushy, cheesy or whatever, she would gladly welcome her first love.

…Hino Kahoko, a seventeen-year-old girl and had never had an ounce of romance in her entire life would soon learn the unpredictable realities of love and its many repercussions.

* * *

"I like you. I've always liked you. Would you give me the honor of being your boyfriend?"

Hino Kahoko gasped. This development was totally unexpected.

Shocked and confused, she found herself staring at his face.

Whoever would have thought he would confess to her?

* * *

**A/n:** I've liked the character of Yunoki so yeah, I included him in this story. Well, maybe it had something to do with my inclination to guys who have long hair (like Hotohori in Fushigi Yuugi I've never really gotten over him). They look hot to me tee hee. I'm still thinking if I will include the other characters like Hihara and Tsuchiura among others (probably they'll make an appearance one at a time). Anyway, as always comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!


	3. Beginning

**Chapter 3: Beginning**

**

* * *

  
**

---

Hino Kahoko was frozen stiff.

No, scratch that. Completely and utterly dumfounded would be a more appropriate description.

Mixed feelings were swirling inside her she couldn't even begin to connect the words with their meanings. Her mind was a jumbled mess.

She was ridiculously scared…like when she watched that horror movie with the ghost who could climb off from a television set (thanks to that, she had nightmares for weeks that she would never look at the tv the same way again). She could feel her eyes would almost pop out of their sockets any minute. Not only that, she was having goose bumps all over.

She was dumbly confused…she never had imagined even in her wildest dreams that something like this would happen more so, with him whom she, (actually not just her but almost all of the female population in the General Education department) considered as someone unattainable and like gods' gift to women that you were only supposed to look at. Well, she always looked at him though and found him really interesting.

She was shamelessly elated…like she became the prettiest person on earth. Heh. She never thought she'd have this conceited side to her. Oh well. Maybe she'd be entitled to feel that way and be a little immodest every once in a while especially when one of the 'princes' in the prestigious Seisou Academy Music department just confessed to her.

And most of all, there was this tingling happy feeling that just seemed to sprout at the tips of her fingers and had spread at an alarming rate throughout her whole system she feared she'd die of an unusual death any minute.

Just like a dream or an illusion, she found herself standing before a prince with him asking her to go out with him. Asking her to love him. Talk about cliché' and stupid randomness that she felt like Julia Roberts in that one movie (something with a hill on the title), only the situation was reversed.

Would he not disappear when she blink her eyes or pinch her skin?

"Hino. Did you hear me? Seems like I scared the heck out of you."

Hearing his shaky voice and looking at his flustered face, she surmised this was real alright. More real than any of those reality tv shows. And no matter how many times she blinked and how hard she pinched herself, he was there…in the flesh and not just a figment of her wild imagination.

Tsukimori Len was there in front of her.

And she was like seeing him for the first time ever.

Were his eyes really that rich golden brown color? His nose perfectly shaped and his lips that soft-looking and supple like her favorite gummy bears candy? His amazingly bluish-streaked hair was so fascinating to look at she had the urge to touch his fringe hanging loosely over his forehead slightly covering his beautiful eyes.

As if in a trance, her right hand followed her desire and reached over, carefully brushing his hair aside but to her dismay, the strands went back to the way they were.

"Your fringe is somewhat obstructing your eyes. It's a shame because they're so beautiful." She heard herself whisper.

She saw him stiffen with her remark and she realized she wanted to disappear at that moment. How could she be so shameless and dumbstruck to do and say something like that?

"Ah…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…It's just that your eyes are so richly golden brown…do you happen to wear contacts? Ah…no…of course not…what am I saying?" She frantically tried to recover her dignity but it was of no use. She was digging her own grave!

"They're not as beautiful as yours." He said quietly that made her almost tumble over.

"W-what?" Shocked for the nth time, she asked, catching her runaway breath in the process.

His lips curved at the corners of his mouth and gave her such an irresistible smile, she just stared at him hard, wishing that moment and that smile would last forever.

"Your eyes sparkle when you smile and they turn a deeper shade of chocolate brown when you're concentrating on something…they perfectly blend with the scarlet hair of yours. But the most fascinating thing about them is that they give off a kind of warmth and wonderful feeling especially when the morning sun shines on them…"

She was at a loss for words. She just stared at him because she wasn't sure if her ability to speak hadn't left her for good. Or maybe because she just wanted nothing else but to look at him and listen to him like it was the most natural thing to do in the world. She didn't expect that Tsukimori Len, the so-called "cold and isolated prince" could be this romantic. Maybe he was possessed or something? Nevertheless, she liked this side of him.

Oh. Now, she had no more doubt about it.

She was dead sure. Absolutely and definitely sure.

She was in love with him.

Crap.

She completely fell in love with Tsukimori Len.

* * *

---

Tsukimori Len was getting increasingly agitated.

He already plucked up enough courage and self-confidence to finally confess to Hino Kahoko. Against all odds, he bravely confronted his feelings and found himself standing before her, declaring his pure intentions of acquiring her affections before anyone else did. Embarrassing and too out-of-character as it might seem, he didn't really care.

All he cared and thought about was the girl in front of him now with wide and surprised deep brown eyes staring back at him. It was such a quiet revelation that he felt there was nothing truer than that fact.

Still, the uncertainty that she felt the same way about him was making him the nervous wrecked he'd never thought he would be. Where had all his composure and nonchalance gone to? Seriously, he was so uncool. He just hoped she didn't notice the panic rising in him with her continuous silence.

She'd been silent for a couple of minutes now after his admission that her eyes were fascinating him to no end. Did he sound like a love struck school boy to her? An overly romantic fool? That even he himself didn't know that he could be a lovesick teenager that he so very much detested in the past about the people of his age, dismissing love and romance like nothing but a waste of precious time.

Now, he knew one of the little ironies of life. He'd learned his lesson never to make assumptions and prejudices about things until he experienced them first hand.

Nonetheless, he couldn't take back what he said because that would seem rude and ungentlemanly. And it was true anyway. Just one of the many truths he discovered about her.

Looking at her, he couldn't believe it took him until now to realize his feelings. How could he have been so slow?

She heaved a deep breath and finally he heard her speak.

"Okay."

He hadn't thought that such a simple four-letter word could be so confusing and cryptic. Or rather, did he suddenly lose all his innate perceptive abilities?

His expression must have looked outrageously thunderstruck, she took pity on him and explained patiently what she meant.

"I mean, I'd be very happy to go out with you." And then she smiled while her eyes sparkled, rendering him speechless even more. "Please take care of me."

It took him a full minute before he finally found his voice. It amazed him when he heard himself sounding calm and relaxed though in reality, he wanted to shout at the top of his lungs. The sudden desire to hug her was so much, he could hardly bear to restrict himself, afraid that she would take back her answer if he lose his control.

"Thank you. And I'd be more than glad to take care of you." He contented himself with staring at her face now bright with a blush so lovely, she took his breath away.

She was his.

Hino Kahoko, this captivating girl now belonged to him.

And he would do everything in his power never to let her go.

Because he was already hopelessly and impossibly in love with her.

* * *

---

**A/n:** Really the mushiness is killing me! Seriously, I wish Len and Kaho would just materialize from the manga so I can hug them both! Anyways, a lot is in store for them in this story. I hope they'd be up for more (and I mean much much more!) achingly sweet predicaments, which make me wonder how they would handle them. I also hope they're still themselves albeit with all the author mercilessly put them through (note: the author is crazily, obsessively fond of them so it's a given she'll make their lives a living heaven and/or hell err whatever)...So yeah, again thanks for reading! I'd be more than happy to know what you thought of this chapter. ^^


	4. Rumors

**Chapter 4: Rumors**

* * *

The school was buzzing that day. There was this latest rumor, which was spreading like wild fire since this morning that anyone who heard it would have any of the following reactions: (1) raise his/her eyebrows for a moment and shrug it off like it was nothing but an ordinary happening; (2) scream some expletives like "What the hell! How in the world did she do that?" (This was the case with the majority of the girls) and decide they would pay the unsuspecting target of their envy a visit just to see whether she was for real; and finally (which was also the most frightening of all), grit their teeth, curse under their breaths and send a murderous glare toward one of the two who were the center of all the commotion.

Although, one might think that such a thing was but a rather common occurrence in the lives of two high school teenagers, within the walls of the prestigious Seisou Academy this kind of rumor affected quite a number of other people, girls and boys alike.

The female population was primarily jealous, envious, bitter, sarcastic and even spiteful of the girl in question, wishing her nothing but ill will that she'd just die and leave the popular, one of the handsomest and utterly talented princes of the school alone. How could she dare to monopolize him and drag him around when none of them could even have a single glance from him? Surely, she'd been using dirty tactics and schemes.

On the other hand, their male counterparts were merely curious about the girl's characteristics, which she was able to use to obtain the attention and affection of the school's 'cold and surly prince.' Certainly, she was a beauty like no other with grace and elegance that rivaled famous personalities. He was after all, one of those people whose family was in the upper bracket of society. They expected nothing less from the girl he would choose.

So armed with their own biases and judgmental attitudes, they took a peek of the girl that Tsukimori Len was rumored to be going out with. As such, it was kind of expected that everyone got confused, which was considerably an understatement depending on which opinion one would hear when they finally saw the girl. She was kind of special in more ways than one - good and/or bad interpretations included.

Hino Kahoko was undeniably plain if not ugly according to the girls' point of view. They couldn't comprehend the freaking logic behind Tsukimori Len's preference for girls. Well, he had the reputation of being socially challenged to begin with, maybe he was looking for someone who would not inconvenience him whatsoever.

On the other hand, she was a moderately pretty and moderately interesting girl coming from the boys' assessment. It seemed to them that she was like a walking innocence and naivety with a blithe and carefree disposition. But she didn't stand out really. More of like, one wouldn't notice her unless she got on stage and did a performance.

Being the girlfriend of one of the seemingly unattainable, exceptionally talented and most popular boy in school certainly had its own brand of difficulties.

Too bad that Hino Kahoko still hadn't had the slightest idea of what she had gotten herself into…that her actions had resulted in major chaos, figuratively and literally.

* * *

Yunoki Azuma was pissed off.

Seriously pissed off.

That Tsukimori Len was unexpectedly fast. He didn't foresee that the guy would actually do such a thing. His image of him didn't quite capture the possibility that he'd be asking her out or any girl for that matter (the guy was practically married to his violin really). And so soon.

Hell.

He was walking down the corridor and all he could hear were people (useless and pathetic girls and boys who couldn't just mind their own business who pose a serious detriment to society) gossiping about the latest and tastiest rumor circulating around school.

Tsukimori Len and Hino Kahoko were going out.

Geez. They went on saying this and that as if anyone needed their approval for anything and as if their opinions mattered. Well, there were really people on this earth who were a giant pain on society who lived and breathed on other people's business.

He was definitely cranky, no doubt. Now, he needed to make some adjustments to his plans. This current development was incredibly unfortunate considering everything he had thought of. He surmised Murphy was a genius to come up with such a law. Whatever could go wrong would go wrong, and at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way. If anything could go even worse, it would go even worse. Definitely, one could never trust the perversity of the universe.

A self-proclaimed genius of his own manipulative methods, Yunoki Azuma never really believed his plans could go any wrong. Well, his intentions were never inherently evil, and so he could not really be blamed for the despicable outcomes of his choices. It was simply just that he didn't have any idea that the powers-that-be had something in store for him that he never knew could alter the turn of events for the worse...

* * *

"A d-date?"

Hino Kahoko's breath was caught in her throat (and for the nth time since that morning). She was in serious danger of forgetting how to breathe and having a massive brain dysfunction in the process. No, it wasn't an exaggeration. More like an outrageously-awful-yet-cringe-worthy predicament she found herself into.

Tried as she might, her average intelligence quotient was not of enough use for her brain to comprehend the reality that yesterday she became the girlfriend of Tsukimori Len. And today he was asking her for a date this Sunday. And tomorrow, they would be moving to Mars. Yeah, served her right.

The charming prince in front of her was crinkling his nose as if he was worried she might turn down his invitation. Whoever in their right mind would do that, really? Not her, obviously. It was just that she was still reeling from the shock of it all and the insanely good feeling she felt afterward that she feared she was not living the usually normal, usually boring life of Hino Kahoko and that she was actually a princess of some faraway land.

Simply put, she was scared.

Scared that she was just living a fairy tale. Scared that everything was nothing but a make-believe. Scared that any moment now, she would wake up and somebody would say, "time is up idiot, get back to reality."

Love can sometimes be magic. But magic can sometimes… just be an illusion.

But then Tsukimori Len smiled his crooked smile (that you'd have to be a corpse not to smile back) and looked at her with warmth in his deep golden brown eyes, silently assuring her she had nothing to be scared of.

"Of course. I would love to." She smiled back at him, wishing with all her might that if anything could last forever, it would be that moment.

* * *

A/n: I promise more action on the next installment. As always, it would make me doubly happy to hear what you thought of this chapter. Thanks for reading!


	5. Repercussions

**Chapter 5: Repercussions**

* * *

Amou Nami was heaving mad in excitement.

Well, no one could blame her when the most incredible, top-headline-worthy and mark her words, one that would surely go down in the history of Seisou Journalism Club as the scoop of the century was unravelling right before her eyes.

This was so wickedly good, she could almost see the front page of the Seisou Weekly Tribune with beaming lights and could almost picture every single soul in both Seisou Gen Ed and Music departments having their own copy of their newspaper.

She checked her ever-reliable camera, adjusted the setting and snapped her would be regarded as "best shot" of her Seisou Journalism Club career. She, Amou Nami was undeniably at the top of her game.

However, somewhere at the back of her mind, she could not help feeling the teeny weensy poke of guilt toward her unaware, thoroughly oblivious and zoned out subjects (they were in their own rosy world wherever that was).

She instinctively knew that what she was doing was invading their right to privacy especially when they were having their lovey-dovey moment they were most certainly entitled of. She had the nagging feeling that she was blatantly going against a responsible journalist's code of ethics. And was no different to a dastardly harmful nuisance – a paparazzi in the making nonetheless.

Trying desperately to ward off the disturbing thoughts, she was able to find some lame excuses to justify her actions. Was she not doing them a favour? Letting the whole Seisou Academy know of their relationship would surely do them good right? Like, for instance, getting rid of the illusions of many, if not the whole female population of Seisou that they could snag the affections of "the ice-cold prince" and be able to melt his frozen heart (yeah, dream on). Nami found herself rolling her eyes. They were a pain to look at actually and this was a good way to put to rest those nonsense fantasies with an eternal thud.

Smiling to herself, she readjusted her camera and snapped away. She was doing them a favour alright. Surely, they would thank her for her efforts in helping them establish their status in school as a couple, effectively blocking off all competitions.

... Amou Nami was too delighted with herself and the realization of her own crazed aspirations, she failed to notice the pair of eyes watching her every move and the evil glint in them enough to scare her senseless.

* * *

Hino Kahoko was having a headache.

And a major one at that, like her head was going to split open any second.

_Your head is full and that's called thinking. Better go with it else you will end up a moron._

She heard her ego mock with annoying sarcasm.

Ever since this morning, she had the weirdest feeling that people were looking at her with varying degrees of any of the following expressions on their faces: (1) downright sarcasm, somehow telling her she was a low class, mediocre being who didn't know her own place; (2) obvious curiosity, herself becoming like a microscopic entity under some kind of scrutiny ; (3) unrelenting dismissal, that she was not even worthy of a single glance and was only a waste of space; and finally, murderous and evil glare, that it darn would nearly kill her if she wouldn't watch it.

It might well just be her wild imagination running overtime again. But all her natural instincts were warning her that she was, in some such way or another, in a middle of a room with a ticking time bomb. It was as if there was something outrageously awful going on around her that she had no idea what to make out of or how to extricate herself from.

Aside from that, well, Tsukimori Len was worsening her growing migraine by the second.

That, was a given.

She kept exercising her brain with thoughts of how to keep herself from drowning in him. Without a doubt, she was falling hook, line and sinker; it was like she was heading to self-destruction and worse thing was, she couldn't help it or rather wouldn't want to help it.

Tsukimori Len was a force of nature to reckon with.

Yeah, she knew that already.

He was like a charming devil, or more aptly an angel you couldn't get enough of. Not her in her case apparently.

She was in grave peril of losing herself whenever she was with him. And the way he made her feel every time took her breath away.

He took her breath away.

And it was terrifying, dreadful even.

'Cause good things weren't always what they seemed.

Too much of anything, even love, was not always a good thing.

* * *

"Hino, do you, by any chance, would like to come to our house?"

Tsukimori Len asked out of nowhere while walking beside her. School just ended and they were on their way home. He was walking her to her house which was only a few blocks away. The day was Friday and they agreed on a date this coming weekend but he suddenly felt that he didn't want to end their day together so soon. And he wouldn't see her tomorrow. That, in itself was more than enough reason to create a gaping hole of disappointment and emptiness in him he had a hard time dealing with. Thus, before he could have time to restrain his mouth, the words just rolled off without a second thought.

Glancing at his side, he saw her blink and look at him as if he had grown two heads at once. Was it fear he saw in her eyes? Of course not, right? Or was it? He wasn't sure. Why would she?

"No, it's alright. Nevermind." He breathed the last word out in one syllable, not giving her the chance to reply.

He was upset and it was evident from his voice. Damn.

The girl, oblivious to his inner struggle gave him a smile that caught him off guard. Did she have any slightest idea that she could turn his world upside down?

"Sure, I would love to," she agreed with a nod, gazing up at him with vibrant eyes.

He hesitated. "Really?"

"Yeah, why ever not?" She answered immediately as if he was asking her an obvious question.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he smiled back at her. "You're a joy." He whispered.

Thank heavens, she was a tad slow she wasn't able to hear him. "What's that?"

He just shook his head and stared at her hard, trying his hardest not to give in to the overwhelming desire to kiss her. He was becoming greedy and impatient, he knew it was going to cost him his downfall.

Throwing all caution to the wind and discarding all the rules he had set for himself, he heaved a deep breath and asked her the dreaded question that would either make or break him.

"I want to kiss you...May I?"

* * *

_A few minutes into the future..._

"I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse."

Amou Nami wasn't able to find her voice. Something about the whole situation was completely off but she was too muddled to even care. _Don't let that doll-face fool you_. Her tried-and-tested gut feel from years of training in the Journalism Club was telling her, but that too was conveniently ignored.

"Whatever that is, definitely!" Shamelessly, she replied heartily almost causing the other person a hearing impairment with her loud voice.

_This is too easy._ The guy thought to himself. He felt thoroughly disappointed at the lack of challenge. But he considered it another artful design of the universe to help him accomplish his goal. _Leave it be and be done with it_. He smirked.

... Amou Nami was so incredibly unfortunate she didn't know that her actions would result to death and destruction, and that she would have a long way off to redeem herself.

* * *

A/n: This had come way too long, I know. Really sorry for the wait. I'm back and I'll try not to be too busy again with life to have a regular update. Thanks for reading! 16.05.12


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